Rewards standings before the tournament games and after them.

Commentary: Rewards matched who the polls thought were the top five teams fairly well, though it had UCLA as #2 until after they won the NCAA tourney, which elevated them to the final #1 ranking (with the other undefeated team - NC State - on probation, and ineligible for either tourney). NCAA runner-up Memphis, moved up to #9 (from #14) and NIT Champion Virginia Tech ended up as Rewards' #11 (#24 before the NIT). Notre Dame moved up eleven places by reaching the NIT Championship game (from #56), so they were apparently deserving of that bid, though their 15-11 record was less impressive than some other teams who probably felt that they were more deserving of such an invitation.